Talk about dreary days, Monday through today would make one think that we are on the verge of winter. Low sixties with
steady rain from Irma has kept me inside still dealing with pain and thinking
of spring fishing which is a long way off.
I hope to use this blog as an avenue to express my thoughts and adventures of all of my fishing expeditions and any other journeys I may undertake.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Back Problems
Friday, September 1, 2017
The Betty Crocker of Fly Fishing
I wonder if you guys knew that all of us bloggers had a
fantastic pastry chef in our blog community. I formed that opinion after I
sampled some of The River Damsel’s fantastic cookies that arrived in the mail
today. These are the chocolate chip variety big and thick that makes you want
seconds, in fact, I down two after lunch. She also packed in a great read
featuring Henry Winkler’s book, “I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River” which I
will read while my back is on the mend. Emily’s thanks so much for the care
package; this kind of generosity is why I enjoy blogging so much.
I needed my spirits lifted today and Emily’s package helped with what I’ve
been going through for the past two weeks; constant lower back pain in my right
hip. I won’t bore all of you with the details but I’ve been seeing my MD, Chiropractor
and Physical Therapist for the past two weeks and I’m still in pain daily. In
fact, I’ve never experienced pain like this before in my life. The only relief I
can get from the pain is lying flat on my back, which I do quite a bit. No
fishing for me or anything else until I get back on my feet, which according to
the Therapist could be weeks.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day!!
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Big Trout-Awesome Float Trip on The Caney
I spent early Sunday morning this past week on the best float trip I’ve
ever experienced landing some of the largest browns and rainbow trout I’ve ever
landed. My son-in-laws Dad, Ron made the trip with me which was his first fly
fishing experience. David Perry, our guide had him casting in no time and on fish soon into the float. The fog was still on the water in places as we made our way down the banks using our 6 weights 9-foot fly rods.
A nice rainbow that give quite a fight on the 6 weight; this
trout and the others I landed made up for the number I lost. Fish seem to always
hit when the fisherman isn’t watching.
After landing this brown I can honestly say that it put
up more of a fight than the rainbow I landed earlier in the morning. I lost
another brown in this size range because I wasn’t able to maneuver it away from the structure.
The prize of the morning for me was this 22” brown, which
was the largest trout I’ve ever landed. I was beyond happy from the look on my
face! A big thank you to David for making this one of my most memorable trout fishing
trips; I’m looking forward to our next outing!!
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
A Learning Curve---Plus Jason Landing Rainbow
My phone alarm went off at 5 AM and I was up and ready by 5:45 for my next fishing class on
the Caney Fork . That’s what my trips are
like every time I wet a fly on this beautiful tailrace now. I arrived at 7:30 suited up and made my way to
some new areas on the river that I’ve not fished before. As usual, the fog was
present with no surface activity at all. With expectations of landing stocker
trout again today, I decided I would use my 3 wt. 9 ft. Streamflex.
Any of you guys think the brown is more of a fighter than
the rainbow and brook?
How I wish I could get my grass in my front yard to look
this green----a trout supermarket for sure.
I’m still trying to break the 14” mark here and so far
those size trout have eluded me. Fishing the Caney is going to take much more
work on my part to equal the success I had on the Sipsey in Jasper Alabama .
Thought I would share some images of my son Jason who
lives in Sacramento fishing
from his new Hobie Kayak. Fuller
Lake north of Sacramento
is one of the mountain lakes he fishes there.
One of the colorful rainbow he landed for the afternoon fishing Lake Fuller!!
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Fishing the Flats
I was back on the Caney again today fishing the flats that level out from the main channel. Some of these areas can be less than a foot and some areas can be knee-deep. I seldom wade in the water on the Caney anymore deeper than knee-deep. I don’t have to wade any deeper than that to land trout there. This tailrace is packed with stocker trout in the size range from 8 to 12 inches. Of course, there is the occasional 16” and above but most of the time the stocker trout is the main course. I’ll take the stocker trout all day on a 3 or 4 weight fly rod in the fast-moving water. If I’m lucky enough to connect with a bigger trout then I consider that a bonus. All I need to make my day a success on the Caney is outstanding scenery, crystal clear water, beautiful rainbow, browns, and brook trout to bend my fly rod and I’m happy. That’s what I encountered on my Caney outing today.
Quality brown just over
the 12” stocker size put up quite a fight just off a gravel flat in a fast run. This
was my only trout to land on a near-perfect drift, “is there a perfect drift” for
the morning. I landed a couple more rainbows at the end of the drift just
letting the midge flutter in the ripples. No mistaking the take when the trout
nail the fly on this type of presentation. Presentation and patience were the main
elements for today's trip, in other words, the trout made me work for the takes.
It's really easy to wade
here because most all the time you are wading on gravel beds, and occasionally
submerged vegetation. The vegetation produces an abundance of food to support a
healthy trout population.
Cathey and I have always
been a collector of nice driftwood stumps and branches for landscaping, but I think
this one is a little out of our range!!! I spent the morning roaming
these flats enjoying another relaxing trip on my favorite southeastern
tailrace.
P.S. I have found out that a 5-hour wade trip is about my limit here, the back starts to act up beyond that. There are no boulders to sit on here like the Sipsey but lots more trout, I will take the trout over the boulders!!!
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Camera "Malfunction" Fishing the Caney Friday
The title of this post
pretty much sums up the mishap that occurred while landing lots of stocker size
trout early Friday morning. In fact, today’s trip was my best this year for the
trout count on the Caney-------but a minus count when it came to camera work.
A short recount of the
morning trip, arriving early at 6:30 and was met by lots of other fishermen and a super cloud of fog on
the water. I started fishing with size 20 midge using an indicator in 2 to 3
ft. -depths. I got to touch a few rainbows, using the tiny fly, but as usual, I kept
losing too many to continue fishing with it. So mid-morning I decided to go with 18
size midge. The 18 sizes proved to be my success ticket. I landed numbers of
trout standing on a shallow sandbar and letting the midge drift into two seams,
one to the left of the sandbar and the other flowing in at an angle; where the
two deeper seams meet was the sweet spot. I know I landed at least a dozen trout in that
one spot.
I would land a few more browns and rainbows fishing small pockets closer to where my truck was parked before the generator forced me to leave. All the trout today was not anything larger than 12” but lots of fun to land using my 4 wt. 9 ft. Redington.
I dropped my camera in the
water while trying to take a picture of one of the rainbows I landed. I knew it
was gone when I couldn’t get it to turn back on, needless to say, I lost all the
images of today’s trip.
I would land a few more browns and rainbows fishing small pockets closer to where my truck was parked before the generator forced me to leave. All the trout today was not anything larger than 12” but lots of fun to land using my 4 wt. 9 ft. Redington.
So I’m looking for a new waterproof camera, any suggestions???
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